. >>> hi, everybody, i'm bill griffeth. maria will be along with the rest of the program in just a few minutes. here's what's making news as we head into a new week. ben bernanke left the door open for mormon tear eae monetary ea. he said the fed needs to remain cautious in deciding its next move and the economy needs more help to encourage job growth. >> i don't want to deny that we've certainly seen some recent positive developments, and what we're hoping for and we'll be looking for is whether or not those positive developments are sustained and whether they lead to a self-sustaining recovery going forward. >> well, that bernanke bounce pushed the dow higher on monday. in fact, it was up 160 points. its best gain in nearly two weeks. the markets then fell through midweek. by friday, the markets closed down the quarter. in fact, here's a look at how the major averages finished. for the most part, better since 1998. elsewhere, best buy is rethinking its business model. the electronics chain announcing it will close 50 of i

. >> and i'm bill griffeth. the bulls have come back at least for today. we are starting to lose some steam. stocks are holding on the gains with the dow holding on triple digits to snap the five-day losing streak. also in the past hour, the fed released the latest survey of regional economic conditions. reports suggested that the economic activity in the 12 federal reserve districts continue to increase at a modest pace. when that came out, it took the edge off the rally that we have seen up to this point. also, one other point. natural gas has settled below $2 for the first time in a decade thanks to the mild winter that we've experienced through much of the country. good news for those who have to buy natural gas, maria. >> let's show you where we stand as we approach the final stretch. close to the highs of the day, bank on the upside. aluminum is higher on the alcoa numbers. showing a gain today of better than 6%. dow industrials up better than 106 points. check the nasdaq, technology also participating here with buyers there up 24 points on nasdaq. s

joining me is bill griffeth. here's what we're following at the close. major averages snapped a two-day win streak. ibm graded down the dow after the disappointing earnings. coming up, is the pullback an opportunity to get back into this market or is there more selling on the horizon? >>> plus, an earning extravaganza is about to kick off. two big names set to report. we have got it all covered for you. dow jones industrials at 13,031. nasdaq lower by 11 points, 3,031. s&p 500 lower by 5 to 1385. bob pisani has our eye on the floor. what happened? >> ibm was a real weight on the dow. my former producer was pointing out, 50 points on the dow. that's why the dow underperformed. it was a messy day all throughout the day. the financials ended off the lows of the day. we had apple which really couldn't hold its gains today. it wasn't a bad day for apple but you can see it's down here fractionally but up in the late afternoon and faded in the close and took the market with it. below 2% yields and then of course we have spain and the issues that we discussed in

. >> and i'm bill griffeth. kind of a chopping day. today is the last day. tomorrow we're closed. the dow fell out of the gate this morning and then rallied midday only to lose steam in the home stretch at tomorrow's jobs report. it would be the third straight down day for the dow making this the worst week for the average so far this year. >>> a lot of buzz about facebook. the high-profile ipo will list on the nasdaq when the company makes its public debut in may. this comes on the heels of the new york stock exchange and market system. full coverage and analysis straight ahead in the "closing bell." >> a lot more on all of those stories. first, take a look at the major averages. we enter the final stretch with the dow jones industrial negative, high about 30 points. we're bouncing off of the lows as we approach this final hour at 13,045. check the nasdaq with all of the news in technology and facebook, it is up at 9 points on nasdaq a third of a percent. 3,077. s&p bouncing off of the lows but still down two points there. less than an hour to go. taking a quick look at today's m

. >> and i'm bill griffeth. a dip this spanish borrowing costs and the dow is up nearly 200 points. also adding to the optimism, upbeat comments on citigroup by the latest earnings report. we're expecting a trifecta of big technology earnings when the bell rings in an hour. ibm, intel, and yahoo! all report after the bell. that's still to come on the "closing bell." >> first, let's take a look at where we stand with less than an hour to go in the trading day. the dow is higher 195 points. we've been up 200 but still we'll take it. 13,116 in a very, very broad rally. the nasdaq is higher by more than 60 points. a gain of more than 2%. s&p 300 with a gain of 1.5%. 1391. holy canoli. >> shares helping to fuel this rally today after meredith whitney held that with an outperform. here's what she said a month ago right here on "closing bell." >> citi hasn't been investable in 40 years. >> what would it take you to invest in citi? >> a new brand. >> apparently they are getting one. >> a new brain. >> here's more from citi with mary thompson. mary, they have a new brain? >> that's a great c

right to bill griffeth we go at the new york stock exchange. bill? >> what was all of the hammering about? what's fueling this bull run today? that's what everybody wants to know about. a lot of things, among others, the china effect. despite the weak report on initial jobless claims and a batch of disappointing ipos, we are seeing stocks rally on speculation that china will be able to avoid a hard landing ahead of its are release of the first quarter gdp data. that comes in overnight tonight. another thing investors are watching closely, today after the bell, we will get earnings from google. the question is, will the tech giant surprise to the upside after missing estimates in the last quarter? we'll have full team coverage on google in the next couple of hours here on the "closing bell." maria? >> that's where money has been moving into technology. we're coming to you from the floor of new york city. trading more volume than any other bank. the company captured nearly 12% of the s&p 500 volume in 2011 alone. outside of trading, credit suisse has r

. >> and i'm bill griffeths. retail stocks posting the lows. today's selloff comes amid fading hope for the fed stimulus also known as qe 3. is today's decline a major turning point, you ask? funny you should ask. coming up, a host of market experts standing by to answer that very question. but first here's a look at the major selloffs. the dow is down 123 points right now at 13,076. the nasdaq down 1.6% or 52 points at 3,061. if the s&p closes around these levels, down over a percent at 13.98, maria. >> financials leading this decline. let's take a look at the big blue chips with less than an hour to go. financials among the big laggards. jpmorgan chase for one. citigroup down sharply. on a sidenote, we are waiting for jamie dimon's annual letter to shareholders. that is closely watched over the last few years. since the crisis of 2008 it's been closely watched. standard & poor's is putting the stop on credit watch negative. meanwhile, less than an hour to go, we take a look now at the key market themes here as we approach this final stretch.

. >> and i'm bill griffeth. the dow off the lows of the day after posting losses in the session. technology is the early losers after ibm and intel failed to impress investors with the earnings results. that group is off the lows of the day at the moment, though. here's a look at where things stand at this hour as we go into the last hour of trading. dow off the lows down 54. we were down 87 on the low of the day. now at 13,061 and change. a decline of half a percent. the nasdaq is positive for only the be second time today. up a third of a point at 2,043. >> take a look at the stocks that we're watching in the final hours. american express reports earnings after the bell. we're awaiting results from big names like ebay, qualcomm, and young brand. stay tuned for instant analysis and reaction. the argentan government reduced production due to a state takeover. >>> reversal of fortunes on wall street. big two-day rally before this. we have bob pisani on the floor of the new york stock exchange. simon hobbs, can't wait. >> i'd love to hear what simon has to say because everyone i've

. >> and i'm bill griffeth. happy friday the 13th. >> that's right. >> the bulls are spooked on this last day of the week. financials leading the markets lower for a second straight week despite better than expected earnings for the likes of jpmorgan chase and wells fargo. what you had was weaker than expected growth numbers from china and a continued rise in spanish. all continuing concerns about a global slow down. we're not trading on our own fundamentals. should you avoid risk-on assets? we have the angle for you coming up. >>> also, we're looking at the banks and mortgages, timothy sloan from wells fargo will be here. >>> first, let's take a look at where we stand as we approach this final stretch. down 71 points. not the lows, certainly off of the worst levels. double digit loss. nasdaq now being sold today, down 36 points. better than 1% to 3,019. with the decline in the session about 11 points, 1376, last trade there. less than an hour to go in the trading day. china, of course, front and center remainin

. >> i'm bill griffeth. we're moments away from a key speech by the president. he's expected to outline his plan for the so-called buffett rule. mr. obama will talk about this proposal to tax millionaires. tax them by 30%. it's something that will be voted on in the senate in the next few weeks. we will carry that message for you live. >> meanwhile, red on wall street. the market is down for a fifth day in a row. more fears of global slow downs rattling investors. there could be higher tax but given the uneasiness in europe and selloff in the euro zone. it is the worst losing streak for the market so far this year we're see a flight to safety. yields on the ten-year falling below 2% in a month. coming up, ways to protect your money during these uncertain times. take a look at how we approach this final stretch. with the dow jones industrial with the decline of 199 points. it was down 200 points. nasdaq, also weaker. it, too, bouncing off the lows. very close to it. 52 points for the nasdaq. check the s&p 500 declining by 1 2/3%. the cyclical names under pressure

nchtsz i'm bill griffeth at the top of the hour on "closing bell" we're talking earnings and outlookustry. a first on cnbc interview with waels fargo's chief financial officer tim sloan joining us. is it time to cash out on a company like citi? we'll break down the charts in talking numbers. and as we head towards the tax deadline this weekend, of course we all know there are only two certainties in life, death and taxes. are those two certainties good investments? we're talking funeral and tax-related stocks coming up. maria and i look forward to seeing you from the new york stock exchange here at the top of the hour. >> bill, thank you very much. and do check out shares of coinstar. cstr, known well to herb up nearly 8%. stock trading at an all-time high, herb. >> don't look at me. >> i'm just saying, this is a heavily shorted stock. there are people that think the company's des destined for a fall. and those people have had their donkey handed to them this year. >> they have this year. jim was on "squawk box" saying this was one of his shorts. and went back saying he's not a short

. >>> i'm bill griffeth.the hour on "closing bell," we have full team coverage of this big market rally and whether or not this comeback is for real or not. and all eyes on google when it reports earnings after the bell tonight. will the tech giant surprise the street? and will it be a positive or negative surprise? and is there a dividend in the cards? so many questions. we also have a double dose of exclusive interviews with the heads of celgene. we look forward to seeing you at the top of the hour from the new york stock exchange. until then, brian. >> bill, thank you. >>> investors setting their sites on sin stocks. here to show us how to profit from living on the edge is diana olick, fresh off the range in martin, virginia. why are we seeing such a big jump in gun sales? >> well, julia, it's either politics, the economy or part of it could be the zombie factor, you know that. but a good chunk of it is chicks -- sorry, women. gun sales up 14% last year nationwide from the year before, 47% more women are n

. >>> i'm bill griffeth, coming up at the top of the hour on "closing bell," we are all over this selloffwe've seen. we'll see whether the meltdown in gold is actually a golden buying opportunity right now. plus, is this pullback in the u.s. market a sign that it's time to put more money overseas? we have that trade for you. and then burger king announces plans to go public just a day after overhauling its menu to try to turn something sales around. we have that and one analyst who says the ipo has flameout written all over it on burger king. see you at the top of the hour, kelly. >> all right. meanwhile taking a look at the smartphone wars. google's android is king. google, apple and research in motion stocks all down today along with everything else it seems. but the android mobile operating system is gobbling up market share now with 50.1%. apple's iphone is a distant second with 30.2%. for the three months ending in february. research in motion's blackberry meanwhile dropped to 13.4%. rimm's well-documented troubles continue. 50.1% though. >> it's booming. android is everywhere. poor

. ♪ >>> i'm bill griffeth.e top of the hour on "closing bell," burger king with a new menu. how this potential food fight could affect your investments in the fast food industry. and talking numbers, a top chart expert is explaining why he's calling for a correction in the s&p 500 this quarter. and we'll get the outlook for social media start-ups with one of the early investors in facebook. that and more. maria and i look forward to seeing you at the top of the hour from the new york stock exchange. mandy, see you then. >> we look forward to it, bill. let's check out illumina. this board has rejected a revised takeover offer worth $51 a share. it turned down an earlier bid. the ceo says the new bid dramatically undervalues the company. >> happy national tax freedom day, everybody. if you paid all of your taxes in one lump sum, you would have to work until today from the beginning of the year until now to make enough to send to uncle sam for the average tax bill. on another tax note, it is official, we are numbe

. >>> i'm bill griffeth coming up at the top of the hour on "closing bell," trifecta of earnings.are talking exclusively with ceos about their latest quarterly results. people close to the matter tell reuters the s.e.c. is voting today on whether or not to charge credit rating agency egan-jones with making intentional misstatements to regulators when applying to be a nationally recognized rating agency. we will hear from president sean egan himself. that's at the top of the hour. >> thanks, bill. we have to get back to the breaking news on apple. street insider out with a report that there's some concern that based on verizon data the iphone sales for this quarter may miss estimates. apple stock is down $20 a share. stern ag on the phone. we have paul hick ki from the spoke investment group. shau, thanks for joining us on very, very short notice. what do you make about this story surrounding the verizon data? and what it might tell us about apple. >> yeah. you know, to cut to the chase, we think the concern is overdone. you know, keep in mind that verizon is one of, you know, many

. >>> i'm bill griffeth.the top of the hour on "closing bell," carnival shares have yet to recover from the costa concordia disaster in italy. should investors remain cautious on that stock or go full steam ahead? also casino stocks have been red hot this year. they've even weathered the recent pullback. is it too late to hit the jackpot with that group? we'll take a look. and the return of risky lending. banks offering new credit cards to high-risk borrowers. is that a smart business decision or a disaster in the make sng we'll get to that and the latest on wall street. maria and i look forward to seeing you from the new york stock exchange at the top of the hour. >> bill, thank you. do you have an extra $222 a day? that's what it costs for a private room in a nursing home on average. many of you caring for ageing parents already know how much elder care can cost. with thousands entering senior years a day, do we have the money to pay for this care? let's ask mark parkinson ceo of the american health care as